


History Repeating

by oOAchilliaOo



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 01:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oOAchilliaOo/pseuds/oOAchilliaOo
Summary: James Vega proves reckless on the battlefield and Shepard, while giving him the dressing down he deserves, can’t help thinking of another young soldier whose recklessness cost him too much.





	History Repeating

He reckoned they were outnumbered by a factor of roughly Holy times Shit, but then again, these days that was about par for the course. He had absolutely no doubt that Shepard would find a way to beat the Reapers, but at the same time, it was hard to imagine  _how_ exactly she was going to do that, when the Reapers’ numbers grew at the exact same pace that their own numbers shrank.

That fact had never been more obvious than now, cornered in a confined space, with a seemingly limitless number of enemy troops coming at them.

Shepard was getting frustrated, and hell, so was he. They needed to get to Ann and soon, but so far they’d only been able to advance by very slow degrees. In their defence, there were about a thousand Harvesters in the air, which made charging the enemy outright unwise and extremely dangerous, but if they didn’t find a hole in their defences soon… things weren’t looking good for Ann.

Vega, it seemed, had grown more impatient than either of them. With a haphazard and barely distinguishable yell of ‘cover me’, he suddenly charged forward. Barely a split-second later, both he and Shepard simultaneously noticed the Ravager about to flank them. 

A shared look after that was all they was needed to communicate their next steps.

He swung right, throwing a stasis field around the Ravager. She swung right, charging forward, grabbing James and hauling him back behind cover. It took less than half a minute before they were all right back where they’d started.

It didn’t take a genius to work out that, despite the short time frame, Shepard was  _monumentally_ pissed by his action. For the moment, though, she contented herself with a sharp glare in James’ direction. Smart. A swamped battleground was no place to deliver the lecture he was sure she desperately wanted to give him.

Instead, she opted to deliver it to him back on the ship. The very moment, in fact, that the elevator door closed behind Tali and Ann, and James headed over to the lockers to start gearing down.

“So, what the fuck was that?” she asked him, casually leaning against the locker as James began removing his armour.

James’ only reply was a stuttered “er…”

Clearly while he hadn’t yet learnt  _not_ to charge full on at the enemy, he  _had_ learnt to fear the too-casual expletive, when the person saying it was Shepard.

Kaidan quietly took up position on the other side of the shuttle bay, silently stripping his armour by the other set of lockers. The perfect place to watch the show without being dragged in.

“I’ll tell you what it was. It was bloody stupid!” Shepard continued, her tone becoming harsher in direct proportion with her volume. “What the hell were you thinking?! I  _know basic_  fucking training taught you better than that. Hell,  _I’ve_ taught you better than that! Charging the enemy endangers your life and the lives of everyone else on the squad and I can’t  _believe_ this needs to be reiterated but, for future reference, you  _do not_ charge the enemy without my  _express_  order, Jenkins!”

Kaidan froze. It was only by sheer force of will and his soldier’s discipline that he managed to not turn around.

He still heard Shepard’s sharp intake of breath.

“James,” she corrected, still in the same furious tone. “Now get your gear stowed, and then you’re cleaning the kitchen… and running laps. MOVE.”

“Yes, ma’am,” James replied, his tone clipped, crisp. An imitation of the perfect officer.

He heard Shepard’s begrudging grunt in response, followed by stamp of her combat boots on the grating as she trudged over.

“Are you okay?” he asked her quietly as they both began packing away their gear with habitual diligence.

“Fine,” she muttered back. “Slip of the tongue, that’s all.”

“Similar situation.” By which, he meant he understood.

“A little  _too_ similar.” He could hear the regret in her voice.

There were a lot of things he could say, about how it wasn’t her fault, about how many lives she  _had_ saved, about how she couldn’t have foreseen or predicted that geth drone… It was nothing he hadn’t already told her hundred times.

Instead he simply reached over, wrapping his fingers around hers and squeezing.

Sometimes, all she needed was silent support, and the proof of that was in the way her shoulders dropped and a little of the tension bled out of her back. He couldn’t ever get it all, not these days, but a little was better than nothing.

And her answering smile was even better than that.


End file.
